Father found guilty of murder in 9-year-old Addison girl's death

ADDISON – Richard Lyons, 45, of Chicago was found guilty of murder in the death of his 9-year-old daughter, Mya Lyons of Addison, in court today, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Rod Englert, a blood-spatter expert hired by the state to testify, said Thursday that all evidence indicated the alley where Mya Lyons was found in the 8400 block of Gilbert Court in Chicago was a staged scene.

He also pointed to photographs of blood spatter in her father's van and his shoes that indicated he was nearby when his daughter was stabbed, according to reports.

When the defense questioned Englert, he testified that he and his firm will be paid about $80,000 for their work, stated media reports.

Lyons found his daughter, Mya, dead near his home on Chicago's South Side nearly six years ago. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide. Lyons faces two counts of murder charges, according the the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Mya died of multiple stab wounds and other injuries in July 2008.

On Tuesday, Cook County State's Attorney Fabio Valentini said after Richard Lyons killed his daughter and left her in an alley, he alerted neighbors that she was missing. Then the father pretended to discover Mya's body and drove her body to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to media reports.

Mya was going to be a fourth-grader at G. Stanley Hall School in Glendale Heights, where she was remembered for love of learning. Mya lived with her mother, Ericka Barnes, in Addison during the school year and spent summers with her father in Chicago.